University of North Carolina at Greensboro
ACC 631 – Advanced Auditing
Course Syllabus - Fall 2015
Tuesday & Thursday 12:30 – 1:45pm, Bryan 111
Instructor: Ambrose Jones III, PhD, CPA
Office: Room 326
Email: ambrose.jones.iii@uncg.edu (Please use this as the first means to contact me).
Mobile phone: 336.509.1223 (emergency only)
Office hours: Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday (5:30 – 6:30pm) & by appointment, or
whenever you see me around campus or in my office. I will tell you if I am already committed.
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
 Auditing and Assurance Services: An integrated approach, 15th edition, by Arens, Elder and
Beasley (ISBN No. 978-0-13-312563-4) or electronic through MyAccouningLab – Course
ID jonesiii73524, or a similar text from your undergraduate auditing class.
 Valley Publishing Company: A Comprehensive Audit Case, 12th edition, by Jones and
Morris (ISBN No. 978-0-912503-37-0)
COURSE OBJECTIVES – to help you:
1. Think critically about auditing with a business perspective.
2. Recognize and evaluate audit issues in a business setting and communicate your assessment
to colleagues.
3. Develop as a team player in an audit environment.
4. Enhance your understanding of the role that auditing plays in business organizations and in
the economy as a whole.
5. Enhance and apply your understanding of basic auditing concepts: risk identification and
containment, client acceptance & continuance, sampling, controls evaluation & testing,
substantive testing and reporting.
6. Apply AICPA and PCAOB professional standards – the course will emphasize identification
of audit issues, along with researching and documenting solutions.
7. Understand and apply the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and its application to the
auditing profession.
8. Recognize ethical dilemmas and apply an ethical decision-making framework.
9. Enhance your understanding of other assurance services, including the auditor’s role in
sustainability initiatives (e.g. corporate social responsibility reporting).
10. Develop as a professional – this includes classroom conduct and participation. You might
think of this as preparation for the real world of working with colleagues, clients and
customers. Your reputation is always at stake and how you act as a professional will have
dramatic impact on your ability to be successful in your chosen field.
ADD/DROP DATE – August 21, 2015
LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW – October 9, 2015
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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
If you are not familiar with the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy, I suggest that you visit the
website at http://sa.uncg.edu/handbook/academic-integrity-policy/. Each of us has our part to
play in upholding academic integrity at UNCG. If UNCG is producing cheaters, this reflects
poorly on the entire university community, even though you may not be the guilty party. A true
friend will confront the person cheating. Individuals do not change behavior if they never have
to account for what they are doing. If you observe something that is not correct and refuse to
take any action, you are developing a habit that may be as detrimental to society as the habit you
are allowing others to continue. Remember that your honesty and integrity are more
important than a grade in a course or even a university diploma.
GRADING
1. The weight assigned to each requirement is as follows:
Quiz #1
Take-home exam
Quiz #2
Final Exam
Participation, including teammate evaluation & case
presentation
Narrative case studies (3 cases – 1 individual and 2 team)
Audit practice case (7 team modules)
Total
Points
45
75
45
100
90
45
100
500
2. Your course grade is determined as follows:
Points
460- 500
450-459
440-449
410-439
400-409
Grade
A
A–
B+
B
B–
Points
390-399
360-389
< 360
Grade
C+
C
F
KNOW WHAT’s GOING ON
From time to time, we may discuss news and developments in the auditing profession. This will
become more relevant as the semester progresses.
As an easy way to stay current, I suggest that you register with CFO.com where you can
subscribe to free newsletter and email alerts for accounting and auditing topics. Go to
http://www.cfo.com/subscribe/. You will receive emails daily, many of which are relevant to the
field of auditing. The articles are very concise and easily understandable.
Another great source of information is the Wall Street Journal. Although not free, it is a valuable
source of information and it only costs about $30 for a one semester student subscription. This
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will entitle you to the print edition, as well as the online content. Similar to CFO.com, you can
request alerts on various topics.
Neither of the above material is required. However, if you are truly interested in a business
career, this will be a helpful and fun way of joining the business community and engaging in
current events may be helpful in your understanding of the course material and responding to
exam questions.
BONUS POINT OPPORTUNITIES
As an incentive to improve your communication skills and to help your fellow classmates learn,
you will have an opportunity to gather an extra ten (10) bonus points and it is very easy.
Succeeding in the business world is based largely on developing and maintaining personal
relationships and being able to identify and communicate current business or political events that
might have an impact on your company or your client (see above, KNOW WHAT’S GOING
ON).
For the extra 10 course points, you can volunteer for a 5 minute class presentation. The rules are:
(1) email your request to me, including the article and stated relevance to course material, within
(not more than) 10 calendar days before your presentation; (2) “first-come, first-serve,” based on
my receipt of your email; and (3) your topic should be about a business, accounting, auditing,
economic or political event that could have accounting, reporting or auditing implications and
you should state the relevance to course material in the presentation. No more than two article
presentations per class will be scheduled, time permitting. This bonus opportunity is available
through the November 12th class, assuming our schedule permits.
CLASS FORMAT (including expectations for participation)
I will introduce each of our topics with a lecture, but I expect that you will have read the material
in advance and will be prepared to discuss the topic. (See the end of this syllabus for our
tentative schedule.) Active participation in the discussions is expected and is a key factor in
grading. Auditing is as much about technical ability as it is about knowing how to research
problems and how to communicate with clients and other professionals.
Beginning with our fourth class, the format will include presentations by class members. Your
responsibilities are explained below:

Narrative Case Studies: Several narrative case studies have been assigned. One team of
students will make an oral presentation of their findings. Students who are not presenting
will be responsible for a written solution to the case study, individually for the first case
and as a team for subsequent cases. Generally, solutions should be approximately 5-6
double spaced pages in length.
Case study summaries should be written using the following outline:
o Briefly summarize the key facts from the case – this can be
done with bullet point outlines.
o Cite (only) the professional standards applicable to the case,
using the title of the standard and the codified reference to
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pertinent paragraphs in the professional literature (i.e., AU and
AU-C section; QC section, SOX section, PCAOB standard
etc.). Key facts and cites should be limited to one page
o Respond to the specific questions listed with the case study
material, citing applicable standards (which you would have
listed above) to support your answer.
o After completing your response, write a question that comes to
mind concerning the case. If you think critically about the case
material, I am sure something will come to mind. These
questions will be used as the basis for further class discussion.
Also, it will help your participation grade by asking these
questions in class.
You are encouraged to use technology tools such as PowerPoint and to add any other
relevant research material available. Presentations should not be read from a paper and
should be at least 30 minutes in length, but with discussion, can be for up to one hour.

Audit Practice Case Modules: The case concerns the audit of a hypothetical newspaper
publisher, the Valley Publishing Company. You will work in teams to prepare the
solutions to seven of the nine scheduled assigned modules. For each module (as with the
narrative cases), one assigned team will have the opportunity to present their findings. By
the end of the semester, each team will have made one presentation. The format for the
presentation is as follows:
o Discuss client’s assertions for the area and the related auditor objectives,
emphasizing those that are of most concern for the financial statement segment.
o Describe the typical audit procedures performed by auditors in the segment of the
audit and any relevant auditing standards. Your textbook and the PowerPoints will
be helpful for this.
o For your particular segment of the audit, discuss:
 Last year’s (20x1) audit procedures and results.
 Anything new or unusual about the current year (20x2)
 Description of the audit procedures you performed.
 Conclusion
For your presentations, I suggest that you use the excel templates that are distributed with
the case material to prepare the majority of your workpapers, or scan the workpapers as a
pdf file. Also, use PPt slides to describe client assertions, audit objectives, findings,
conclusions, etc. Active participation is encouraged during these presentations.
Assignments should be completed before they are presented in class. I will evaluate participation
in the classroom discussions of new material and assignments and periodically take notes to
award course points. This grade will be based on the frequency and relevance of
communication and is a critical component of your overall grade. This is a graduate level
course and active student engagement is expected. Just coming to class regularly (on time) and
not hindering others in their quest to learn will earn you a C for this component of the grade.
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ATTENDANCE and CLASSROOM CONDUCT
Each student is responsible for the material covered and assignments given during each class. If
you are not in attendance, it is your responsibility to determine what was covered in class. At the
end of this syllabus is a tentative schedule to help you plan your time. I will attempt to follow
this very closely and I will announce changes, if necessary. A seating chart will not be used;
however, I would appreciate if you take a regular seat.
As mentioned above, one of the course objectives is to develop as a professional. I commit to
doing my best to help you achieve this objective – I believe that my 30+ years in the “real world”
of business, including 23 years as a partner in a national CPA firm helps qualify me to do this. I
think we can achieve the objective and have fun at the same time. Your lack of attendance will
not directly lower your grade – my opinion is that you are only hurting yourself, assuming your
goal is to be successful in this class. It will be difficult to achieve a good grade for participation
if you don’t attend class regularly. Expectations concerning classroom behavior are as follows:
 Side conversations during class, other than as part of the general classroom discussion, are
considered rude and unprofessional. Success in the business world requires many attributes;
one of which is exercising appropriate conduct to fit the situation. The classroom is the
equivalent to professional meetings that occur every day in the real-world of business. In
these situations, individuals are expected to come prepared, participate when appropriate, and
not to exhibit behavior that is disruptive or disrespectful of others. This includes excessive
talking in class that is not a part of our overall discussion, passing notes to others, and
creating other forms of distractions that are disruptive in the classroom. These behaviors are
strongly discouraged and will be considered in awarding your classroom participation grade.
If a student is notified of this more than once, 50 points will be deducted from your course
total, along with the opportunity for any bonus points. If the behavior continues, additional
points will be deducted. Therefore, the best that can be expected for the course is a “B+”
even if such student scores 100% on all exams and other requirements. I feel very strongly
about this – my concern is that side conversation hurts the chances of others to concentrate
and to learn For UNCG and Bryan School policies see http://sa.uncg.edu/handbook/studentcode-of-conduct/ and www.uncg.edu/bae/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf .

Cell phones are to be turned off and put away before class and are not to be used for any
reason during class or exams. The same rules apply here as above for other disruptions.

Please be on time for class – chronic lateness is disruptive to the class and will be considered
in awarding your class participation grade.
MAKE UP POLICY
If, for what I determine to be good cause, you must miss a quiz/exam, provisions can be made
for an early quiz/exam, but I must be notified at least 48 hours in advance of the scheduled time
and the make-up (early quiz/exam) must be taken prior to the regularly scheduled time. Good
cause is generally restricted to death of a family member, severe illness, or similarly acute
personal exigency, impairing your ability to take an exam. Documentation is required in all
cases.
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If a mid-semester quiz/exam is missed, the points for that (those) quiz/exams will be assigned to
the final exam, only with my permission given in advance of the scheduled quiz date. Permission
for skipping a second quiz/exam will be granted only in rare (documented) circumstances and is
dependent on the student’s otherwise active participation in class and completion of assignments.
Late case study assignments and or a late take-home exam will not be permitted.
UNFORESEEN CANCELLATION OF CLASS
If a class is canceled because of an unforeseen event then all assignments for that class meeting,
including quizzes, carry over to the next class meeting. In the case of inclement weather, I will
make every effort to be in class if UNCG is not closed. You must assess the risks involved in
your situation and decide what you should do. Also you must accept the consequences of your
decision and be responsible for the material covered if you choose to miss class. The University
of North Carolina at Greensboro will remain open during adverse weather conditions unless an
administrative decision on changing work and class schedules is made by the chancellor.
Students can receive inclement weather details on the UNCG home page (www.uncg.edu), or by
dialing three campus telephone numbers: Adverse Weather Line (336-334-4400); Campus
Switchboard (336-334-5000); and university police http://police.uncg.edu/. (336-334-5963).
COMMUNICATION
Outside of class, I will communicate with you via Canvas and/or email. This syllabus (including
revisions during the semester), as well as other documents will be posted on Bb. Prior to each
class, I will post PowerPoint files to be used in lectures and homework solutions will be posted
after we discuss them in class. I encourage you to check your email and Bb often for these
communications.
POLICY ON DISABILITIES
UNCG is committed to a policy of equal opportunity and affirmative action in education and
employment and complies with the requirements of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the
American Disabilities Act of 1990. If you require special accommodations, please contact me at
your earliest convenience. Also, I urge you to check the UNCG website at
http://ods.dept.uncg.edu/ to arrange any special accommodations.
CPA EXAM - HELPFUL WEBSITE
If you plan to sit for the CPA exam during or after this course, you might be interested in the
following website: http://www.cpareviewforfree.com/.
OTHER
Audio or video recording of classes is not permitted, unless a request is supported by approved
authorization from the Office of Accessibility Resources & Services. If permission is granted,
you must sit in the front row of the classroom. For more complete documentation of UNCG
faculty and student guidelines concerning the expectations of all of our learning community
members, see http://bae.uncg.edu/assets/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf.
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ACC 631 – Advanced Auditing Tentative Schedule – Fall 2015
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Date
Topic
Aug 18 Introduction
20 Auditing
introduction & The
Sarbanes-Oxley Act;
Code of Professional
Conduct; Legal
environment for
CPAs
25 Intro; SOX; Code
(continued)
27 Case 1 due
Sept 1 Audit objectives &
evidence
3 Client acceptance;
audit risk model &
materiality
8 Client acceptance;
case 2 due
8.
10 Internal control;
control; fraud risk;
audit planning
9.
15 Identify inherent,
control & fraud risk;
case 3 due
17 Catch up & review
10.
11.
12.
13.
22
24 Take-home exam
due; Acquisition &
payment cycle,
Accounts receivable
and Cash (tests of
details of balances)
29 Review exam and
continue topics from
September 24th
Class agenda
Introduction;
preliminary exercise
Lecture – complete
Chapters 1, 2, 4, & 5
Assignment (planning)
for future class(es)
Ch. 1, 2, 4, & 5
Case 1 (ethics) –
individual assignment
(due Aug 27th)
Lecture (continued)
Ch. 6 & 7
Student presentation
Case 1
Lecture – Ch 6 & 7
Ch. 8 & 9
Lecture – Ch 8 & 9;
Case 2 – team (client
acceptance, due Sept 8th);
Ch. 10, 11 & 13
Student presentation
Fraud & internal control
Case 2
articles (Drew 2012;
Tysiac 2012a, 2012b;
PwC 2013; Tysiac 2013)
Lecture – Ch 10,11 & Case 3 – team (fraud, due
13; distribute takeSept 15th)
home exam (due Sept
24th)
Student presentation
Ch. 14,16, 18 and 23
Case 3 (fraud)
Introduce VPC case
Quiz 1
Lecture – Ch 14,16,
18 and 23
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VPC preliminary
assignment (due October
1st )
Chapter 21
14.
Date
Topic
Oct 1 VPC preliminary
assignment due
15.
16.
6
8
17.
13
15
18.
20
19.
22
20.
27
21.
29
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Class agenda
Student presentation
(VPC preliminary
assignment)
Inventory cycle
Lecture - Chapter 21
Dual purpose testing; Student Presentation
VPC #1 due;
(VPC #1); lecture
continue inventory
Chapter 21
discussion
Fall Break
Auditing cash &
Student presentation
accounts receivable; (VPC #2 or 3)
VPC # 2 & 3 due
Other asset &
Lecture – Ch 19
liability accounts
Inventory; VPC # 4
Student presentation
due
– VPC #4; Ch 22
Capital acquisition & Lecture – Ch 22
payment cycle
PP&E; VPC # 6 due Student presentation
– VPC #6
Nov 3 Other assurance
services
5 Audit Completion
10 Quiz 2 – covering
Ch 19, 21, 22 & 25
12 VPC # 7 or 5/8 due
17 Audit Reporting
19 Auditing operations;
audit completion;
VPC #9/10 due
24 TBD
Dec 3 FINAL EXAM –
12:00 – 3:00pm
Lecture – Ch 25
Assignment (planning)
for future class(es)
VPC assignment 1 (due
October 8th)
VPC assignment 2 or 3
(due October 15th);
Chapters 19 & 22; VPC
assignment 4 (due
October 22nd )
VPC assignment 6 (due
October 29th)
VPC assignments 7 or
5/8 (due November 12th)
Chapter 25 CSR articles
(Jones III and Jonas
2011; Lynch 2013;
Schneider 2013)
Chapter 24
Lecture – Ch 24
Chapter 3 VPC;
assignment 9/10 (due
November 19th )
Student presentations
– VPC #7 & 5/8
Lecture – Ch 3
Student presentations
– VPC #9/10
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REFERENCES
Drew, J. 2012. Criminal minds. Journal of Accountancy (August):26-31.
Jones III, A., and G. A. Jonas. 2011. Corporate social responsibility reporting: The growing need
for input from the accounting profession. CPA Journal 81 (2):65-71.
Lynch, N. C. P. 2013. The assurance market for sustainability reporting. Journal of Accountancy
215 (5):35.
PwC. 2013. Internal control - integrated framework: Executive summary. Committee of
Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) [cited August 8, 2013]. Available from
http://www.coso.org/documents/990025P_Executive_Summary_final_may20_e.pdf.
Schneider, B. A. 2013. Assurance opportunities broaden. Journal of Accountancy 215 (5):32-36.
Tysiac, K. 2012a. Internal control, revisited. Journal of Accountancy (March):24-29.
———. 2012b. Small businesses, big risk. Journal of Accountancy (August):38-43.
———. 2013. Newly released COSO framework a frest look at internal control, August 8, 2013
[cited. Available from http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/News/20137970.
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